Daily Update: A look at Chase Headley

Come the July 31 trading deadline, Chase Headley might be a player to watch.

There are teams out there that believe Headley is a .300 hitter capable of 20 homers a season if his home ballpark were any place other than Petco Park in downtown San Diego.

Headley has a career .235 average at Petco Park with 17 homers. While on the road, Headley is a .300 career hitter with 27 homers. This season, Headley is hitting .267 at home with two homers compared to .279 on the road with six homers.

The switch-hitting, 28-year-old third baseman is considered above average as a fielder and scouts like the way he runs the bases – far from the fastest player in the league but one of the smarter runners.

Headley is already into his second season of arbitration and is earning $3.475 million this season. He is not eligible for free agency until following the 2014 season. Plus, the Padres are deep in third base prospects with both Logan Forsythe and Jedd Gyorko immediately available if Headley should be traded.

Headley went 3-for-5 Thursday in Houston with his eighth homer of the season.

The homers are double his total for 2011. His batting average of .273, equals his highest average since April 27. Thursday was also his fourth, three-hit game in June for Headley, who is hitting .305 for the month and is 15-for-37 over his last nine games with a double, a homer and seven RBI.

Might Headley be traded at the deadline?

The Daily Five (Notes, Stats and Numbers)

--INF-OF Alexi Amarista, who won Thursday night’s game in Houston with his first major league homer/first grand slam homer, is 6-for-13 in his last seven games with a two doubles and the slam for six RBI. He has raised his average from .186 to .233.

--The Padres were 14-25 on May 17 when they dumped their middle infield combination of SS Jason Bartlett and 2B Orlando Hudson in favor of SS Everth Cabrera and 2B Amarista. Improvement? They are 14-24 since. The Padres are 10-12 since the arrival of Logan Forsythe, although that period also parallels the arrival of LF Carlos Quentin.

--Quentin is 5-for-15 in his last four games with a double, two RBI, four walks and Thursday night’s bases-loaded hit by pitch after going 0-for-13 in his four previous games. Quentin has already been hit by six pitches in 103 plate appearances.

--Mark Kotsay has six hits in his last eight at-bats and has reached base in his three most recent pinch-hitting experiences (two hits and a walk in his last four games. He is 5-for-15 as a pinch-hitter with a game-winning double and a game-winning homer.

--OF-1B Jesus Guzman, whose playing time has been reduced by the arrival of Quentin, is 3-for-24 since June 15 with his average slipping to .234 – its lowest mark since May 4.